The Day They Discontinued My Tampons

Ooof. Y’all.

Look… I’m a reasonable person. I recognize that now, in my early 40s, I should be much more amenable to small changes in my everyday routine. I should have learned to roll with the punches by now, right? Small things are just small things, right? I have a CHILD, so shouldn’t I be able to adapt and overcome??

RIGHT??

Kotex discontinued my favorite tampons. Turns out, as you’ll see in that link, I’m not the only one losing my mind. They’re not “out of stock”. Not “supply chain issues”. They’re not stuck in a shipping container beached in the Suez Canal. When I tell you this has shaken me, I’m dead serious. I stood steamy-eyed in the tampon aisle at Walgreens last week, unable to make a decision. Every other tampon leaks. EVERY OTHER ONE. I bought three
small boxes of different makes and models, and YEP… LEAKAGE. This is not like the mind-blowing decision that Bath & Body Works made by discontinuing Country Apple back in the day. (Why did we like this one, again?) All I want is to be able to go to work and do my life without worrying about my tampon. Kotex gave me that. This is about security. This is about comfort. This is a serious offense, ladies. I. Am. Disgruntled. 

Right about now, I’m sure you’re finding yourself in one of four categories of women reading this:

    1. “Just find another brand and adapt. You’ll be fine. This isn’t a big deal.”
    2. “Just wear a pad with it.”
    3. “Try a menstrual cup!
    4. “Oh, HELL NO.”

Ladies of Group Three… and I say this with all due respect… HELL NO. 

I’ve read every box in the Target aisle on these monstrosities. I’ve considered it. I’ve googled it. I’ve met people who swear by them. But it’s a no from me, dawg.

I know we’ve all been through hell the last two years with parenting and homeschooling and masking and trying to hide our allergies because people look at you crazy in Crest if you sneeze. But now we’ve got people touting the idea of putting a special blood-collecting cup up your glory hole to gather a whole day’s worth of clots, and then empty, rinse, and repeat? Who came up with this? How do you do that in the ladies’ room at On Cue? Do I wait until the bathroom is empty, waddle to the sink, rinse my bloody cup off, and waddle back to the stall? I CANNOT, y’all. Maybe if I stayed home all day, this would work, but for a human blessed with lady bits out in the world all day, NO. Some of y’all have never been heavy bleeders, and it shows.

If given the choice to save the planet with menstrual cups or paper straws, I will suffer through paper straws for the rest of forever. I’ll complain, but I’ll do it.

Ladies, at 42, I can change a tire. I can come up with a dinner recipe at a moment’s notice with minimal ingredient availability in the fridge. I can do a lot of things, but not this. Give me back the good tampons, Kotex. I’m not prepared for these kinds of curveballs. 

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Kelli Bruemmer
Kelli is a native Okie with a larger-than-life personality and an unhealthy dose of sarcasm. She married Bobby in 2011, and they welcomed daughter, Maevyn, in 2013. Maevyn is autistic, and every day is a new adventure in discovering how her unique mind works. Life on their NE Oklahoma City acreage is never dull, and they enjoy RV camping and Sooner football. Kelli is a former law enforcement officer who now works full-time facilitating programs that keep people safe on Oklahoma roadways. She also enjoys consulting for Beautycounter, advocating for tougher legislation in the US beauty industry, stifling inappropriate profanity, managing her RBF, sharing inappropriate memes, looking for the nearest restroom, hiding her love of Taylor Swift, and trying not to sing Disney songs out loud in public.

21 COMMENTS

  1. I could not agree more I’ve been so sad trying to find another tampon that work for me, they want 200 bucks for 11 boxes of kotex on ebay That’s jus down right insane I want my tampons back already kotex compact does not to the job. Does anyone know of a dupe for them.

  2. I just left this little ditty on their facebook page and got the standard response…
    I went to the store – to stock up on some more – of the only tampon I trust. Instead in their place – was this tweeny disgrace – a bait and switch, so unjust. I wanted to cry – but decided to try – “It’s still Kotex, I suppose?” The click was so weak – it slipped and it leaked – now I’m always washing my clothes. Kotex are you there? – do you even care? – this has got to be a bad dream. Please stop this failed trial – bring back the old style – and fire your marketing team.

  3. Glad that I googled and found this article. Now I know why these companies think I am 16 again and can go all day with those teeny tiny things up there. I thought it was just me that had to change out 10x a day! Its not me, its you. Bring them back now! A menstrual cup??? I agree, OH HELL NO!

  4. I have sent Kotex so many messages! I have been using these tampons since I was a teen. I’m devastated about this. They were the easiest ones to put in and get out. I loved how the handle was the same size as the applicator. There was a little knot tied at the end so my fingernails could grasp it and pull it out. They hardly ever leaked. They were comfortable and reliable. They never came apart inside me.
    I have been trying all kinds of tampons. Nothing works like my security tampons. I saw an article that said they were discontinued because they were coming apart inside women. I have never had that happen until having to try other brands. It is frustrating! I miss my Kotex security tampons! Maybe it’ll be like a soap opera and they will come back from the dead. Keeping my fingers crossed and praying!

  5. My life has seriously changed since they discontinued these. I like all of you have used them all my life and at 48, I am seriously upset, angry, sad and downright disgusted. This is a serious issue, and really should be looked at as a medical necessity. I too can not live life, work, etc. normal anymore during that time in the month. It’s really been life changing!

  6. I am so upset that they took the kotex tampons. I have been using them since I was 10 yes old. I have tried every single other brand and nothing is comparable. Why would u take something that actually worked for so many women??!! Why?? They were the best full sz easy in and easy out applicators. Being 38 I am so lost and pray they come back. Please kotex please

  7. I’m so happy to know that I’m not alone in this. I recently used my last super plus security tampon and had my first couple of periods trying to figure this tampon thing out. I feel like my 13 year old self trying to insert tampons for the first time. I can’t believe how I took for granted a wide applicator. It was nothing to run in the bathroom change my tampon with ease. Now, I have to use two hand and figure out whether to stand, stoop, sit or bend. Trying to push on that tiny, thin applicator is so Frustrating. I will never understand why Kotex didn’t just fix what was wrong with the security tampon,, instead of leaving such a void in the market.

  8. In the same boat as many women here. Used them since I was a teenager, and NO other brand or style are comfortable. Honestly they are UNcomfortable and wasteful. If messages/feedback have already been sent to Kotex, how can we band together to make an impact?? Let me know, I’m in!! And if anyone has found a decent replacement for the regular Security tampons, pleeeeasee let me know. Click, playtex clean + sport , tampax pearl, CVS comparable kotex security are just a few 7/8 full boxes in my closet that are NOT comparable 😖👎🏼

  9. I hate when people, especially other women look at me like I’m crazy when I start getting heated about this topic. Like I’m just some entitled woman complaining about something as trivial as tampons, but not having access to an effective period product has greatly impacted my life in the most negative way. Like every other woman who has been struggling thru this every month for what, 2 or 3 years now, I’ve tried EVERYTHING and nothing else is remotely similar. I’m considering just getting a hysterectomy at this point. Because now I’m not confident going out in public for long periods of time during that month bc I now whatever I’m using is going to fail me. What I REALLY wish, is that Kotex would at least be honest with their loyal customers who had relied on this 1 line every month for over 25 years, please, just tell us why you decided to discontinue your best selling and most effective product? The Kotex Security pad line is still available, so why just the Security tampons? I know they’ve claimed the Click is just as effective, but as we all know, that’s a bold face lie. If it was bc of the class action lawsuit, just freaking say so, instead it looks like you know how many women are struggling every month and just refusing to bring them back, hoping that we’ll just accept not having access to effective period products.

  10. I finally researched and found out why the ONLY tampons that EVER worked without leaking were discontinued! I have seriously done trials with all the brands from CVS and Target and ALL LEAK! Not saying anything about my girly parts but have the tampons also shrunk in size?? I have had to wear a liner in addition to a tampon. Has anyone found a close second? Has anyone tried the organic lines or the subscription brands? Please share…

    • Can you tell me why, cuz I’m 58 and started HRT and I’ve been having a period for 11 days and oh my God nobody even knows what the hell security kotex is. I almost died. I feel so sorry for you women in your 20s 30s and 40s. I don’t know what you’re going to do for the next 30 years- it’s like putting a tiny little pencil tip inside of me and then I sit down and it just pops out. I don’t know what I’d do. Probably consider the hysterectomy another lady mentioned

  11. I’m glad I’m not the only one who’s used the Kotex super plus tampons and am completely lost without them 😂 I’ve never been more self conscious of my situation downstairs than I am now. All of the ultra super dooper leak proof tampons leak! All of them! I’m having to change them once an hour the first two days and it’s madness. Not to mention the stick they call an applicator leaves me wondering if I’ve always felt so wide set downstairs 😂 I feel like I’m in meangirls… I have a heavy flow and a wide set vagina 😂 I need my kotex back! My saint of a mother had a box of mine at her house from a long time ago that she brought me recently and I couldn’t have asked for a better gift 😂

  12. Has anyone else found a replacement?

    I keep finding posts where women are specifically upset about the applicator. I literally could not care less about the applicator…I’ll go applicator free or use those painful cardboard ones at this point. Like, sure…it was a great and painles applicator, but the thing I REALLY care most about is the insert. I can’t find ANYTHING that is remotely close to the cotton insert the Kotex Security brand used. I never had an issue with slipping or leaking…EVER. Now? Every. Single. Brand. that I have tried, slips or leaks. I’m 39 years old, and I’ve never had to be nervous about bleeding through pants when I’m out and about, and now I do. I’m literally needing to change my tampon every 30 minutes to an hour because it’s leaking or it’s adjusted itself into a position I can feel which is irritating at best and painful at worst. I’ve literally searched 100s of brands, watched comparison Youtube and TikTok videos, tried everything that looks even remotely close, and none of it works. I’ve cried over this because now I actually have to WORRY about my periods when before it was just another day with a couple extra steps in the bathroom.

    So, I’m begging at this point…has anyone found a substitute??

  13. I too thought they were stuck out to sea blah blah blah… but then I noticed they replaced the Kotex Security Tampon with these little, itty, bitty ones. Like most of the women who responded here, I am with you! At 47, my flow is so heavy and it’s hard to work with those clicky ones and aggravating… I go on Amazon and buy them at a ridiculous prices. But they’re the only ones that work. It’s a crying shame!!!!

  14. This was the only tampon that stood up to my flow as well and now that I have a large uterine polyp I haven’t been able to get removed yet it has significantly worsened the problem. I have found that that the Tampax radiant super plus tampons are working great. I don’t buy the ones with the compact applicators though. The regular tampax, tampax pearls weren’t working out and the radiant work for me better than whoever makes the Ultra absorbency tampons. It seems every store had also discontinued their own knock off brands of the security line as well 😡.

  15. I seriously feel this in my soul. Same tampons for 21 years and then poof! For a year or two now I’ve been trying to find a replacement and I can’t. Has anyone found anything as good as these?!

  16. I’m so angry with Kotex! Initially I was like all of you. I was barely able to find them and then couldn’t find them ANYWHERE! Finally I went on Amazon and grabbed some and was happy. By the time I was ready to order again the prices had gone up! Concerned but still happy I purchased a case of regular, super, and super plus! Once I ran out (Due to sharing with fellow Kotex users) I came back to Amazon to find the price had SKYROCKETED!!! I purchased once more but could not keep up with the price increases. So I have been purchasing a different brand each time I am on my cycle. This has been extremely frustrating!

  17. I got pregnant and after I gave birth went to buy my normal tampons that I have been using since I was 18. That’s when I realized. They didn’t just change the look of them. My tampons don’t exist anymore! In the time I was pregnant, they discontinued my tampons! What the heck??!! I’m sure there’s a reason for it but it sucks so bad! I have tried the CVS ones, and they are not too bad, but nothing has compared to those. I can’t get through the night without using 4 of the new Kotex ones. It’s impossible. I still buy their regular ones but for Supers and Super Plus I’m forced to use another brand.

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